Nearly two-thirds of world’s extremely poor live in 5 countries

April 12, 2014 - 13:58 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net - The World Bank Group (WBG) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) continue to hold their annual spring meetings in Washington, D.C., this weekend. Thousands of government officials and NGOs are there to discuss the global economy and international development, Mashable says.

Gearing up for the event, the WBG released a new report, which focuses on the progress that has been made in reducing global poverty, and what challenges remain.

Using the most recent data from 2010, the report shows that nearly two-thirds of the extremely poor — that is, those who live on less than $1.25 a day — live in just five countries: India, China, Nigeria, Bangladesh and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The report also makes sure to note that there are smaller countries with very high extreme poverty rates, including Liberia, Burundi, Madagascar and Zambia. A more detailed version will be released later this year.

Global poverty as a whole is in decline. In 1990, 36% of the world's population lived in extreme poverty; in 2010, that number decreased to 18%.

This year, the WBG President set an interim target to reduce global poverty to 9% by 2020.